The Best of The Fried Egg, 2021 Edition

Whether you were nice or naughty this year, we hope you’re enjoying the holiday season! On behalf of the entire Fried Egg team (Andy Johnson, Garrett Morrison, Will Knights, Brian MacInnes, Meg Adkins, and Cameron Hurdus), thank you for your support.

The year in Fried Egg content

As a holiday exercise, we came together to select some of our favorite podcasts, articles, and videos that we produced in 2021. Enjoy!

Podcasts

How Your Personality Shapes Your Golf Game – March 11 – Kiel Alderink discusses how he and his company Mental Golf Type use personality psychology to help golfers improve.

Fried Egg Stories: The Qualifier – June 3 – For a summer edition of Fried Egg Stories, Garrett Morrison follows Juli Inkster, Lucy Li, and others as they attempt to qualify for the U.S. Women’s Open.

Mapmaking with Don Placek – September 14 – Don Placek, partner at Renaissance Golf Design, talks about his overlapping passions for drawing, mapmaking, and golf course architecture.

Superintendent Series: Rodney Hine of Boston Golf Club – October 12 – Rodney Hine tells stories about getting his start at Winged Foot, working with Gil Hanse and Tom Doak, and managing vegetation at Boston Golf Club.

A Keiser-Backed Renovation in Madison, the Doak Internship, and Women in Golf Course Design with Sara Mess – October 29 – Sara Mess offers insights into how golf course architecture could better serve women and local communities.

Articles

Women Worth Televising? – Will Knights – January 26 – The lackluster coverage of a final-round duel at the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions raised some larger questions about how TV networks treat women’s golf.

Big Golf and Small Golf – Colin Criss – February 14 – Does the well-honed expertise of today’s top golf course architects actually work against them?

JT and Rory vs. the USGA – Will Knights – February 15 – After some inaccurate comments from Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy on potential rules changes, Will Knights sets the record straight.

Prairie Dunes: Then and Now – Meg Adkins – February 21 – In her debut article for The Fried Egg, Meg Adkins digs into her lifelong fascination with Prairie Dunes.

No. 13 at Augusta National: A Postmortem – Garrett Morrison – April 18 – Garrett Morrison dives deep into the history of the 13th hole at Augusta National and how its strategic character has changed over the years.

Someone Better – Jamieson Cox – May 16 – Contributor Jamieson Cox explores the highs, lows, and peculiarities of being a Rory McIlroy fan.

The Ringmaster – Brendan Porath – May 24 – Brendan Porath does some honest-to-God reporting here, describing how Phil Mickelson controlled the chaos on the ground during the final round of the PGA Championship.

Using Nature’s Hazards – Andy Johnson – June 15 – Andy “Architecture Snob” Johnson details how U.S. Open venue Torrey Pines could be better. Some of our media colleagues didn’t love this one.

A Raynor for the People: Rock Spring – Garrett Morrison – October 31 – Rock Spring is a rarity in the golf world: a municipal course designed by Seth Raynor. But a couple of years ago, it almost closed for good.

America’s Great Remaining Golf Course Restoration Opportunities – Andy Johnson – Many of America’s most important golf courses have been restored recently. What remains to be done?

Videos

Charleston Muni: Raynor Revival – February 18 – Thanks to a renovation by Troy Miller, Charleston Municipal has a style of architecture rarely seen at public courses.

Wild Horse: Public Golf in the Nebraska Sandhills – March 15 – Located near, well, nothing, Wild Horse is one of the best values in golf.

A Lowcountry Landscape: The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island – May 10 – The Ocean Course is one of Pete Dye’s toughest and most sophisticated championship designs.

Conquering the Camber: The Olympic Club’s Lake Course – June 3 – In advance of the U.S. Women’s Open, LPGA pros give their thoughts on what makes the Lake Course an intimidating test.

Figure Eights on the Lake: Whistling Straits – September 19 – Andy Johnson and Garrett Morrison assess the strengths and weaknesses of this year’s Ryder Cup venue.